The title of this blog post is a common paraphrase of a quote from Theodore Roosevelt. TR once said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” I start with this quote because of some recent conversations I’ve had.
As most of you know, BPO Elite offers an analytics training seminar to fresh (or recent) college graduates. In the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing close to 100 recent college graduates who have expressed interest in attending the Introduction to Analytics seminar. Most of them are pretty excited about the training, but in many cases they choose not to attend for two reasons very much a concern for most college grads; (1) how much does it cost? and (2) will it guarantee me a job? In many cases there is also another important consideration… (3) will my parents let me go to this?
So to help those of you who are considering the class, let’s look at each concern. We will start with how much does it cost. The first batch we charged PHP 200 but did not include lunch for the second batch we tired PHP 500 inclusive of lunch. The idea is to determine which offer is more attractive to our target audience. In either price all materials and snacks are included and the fee barely covers the cost of renting the facility. So for two days of training from an expert in the field of analytics, the either price seemed like a bargain when you compare that to the price of most professional training programs out there. There is cost associated with everything. And like President Roosevelt alluded too… to get something of value you have to pay for it. However, to a fresh grad, still looking for their first job, even PHP 200 might seem like a lot.
The second concern is that if they take the two days to attend the training and they pay the fee, will it guarantee them a job. Now, conventional wisdom says that no training will ever guarantee you of anything. Training can add value to what you already know, it can help you find new ways of doing things and it can open up new possibilities, but it can’t take an unemployed person and then automatically employee them. We all know that, but we don’t want to believe it. There are a lot of recruiters, trainers and other people out there who promise that they can find people jobs, but it’s because they are in it to make money on filling job slots. The only promise I am willing to make is that you will learn a lot about analytics and what a career as an analyst can look like. We can help in the job search and we can help you strengthen you resume and your online profiles, but in the end it’s you who will or will not get that job worth having. So in undergoing this seminar with BPO Elite, a fresh grad needs to decide if this training will put them in a better position to get the job they want. Again let’s think of TR’s quote… if its worth doing, its not going to be easy. Being an analyst is a hard, but satisfying career choice and its one that takes patience and planning.
And finally we have the influence of the parents to consider. In a lot of cases I have recent graduates tell me that they want to come, but they need to discuss it with their parents. To me, this is both a good thing as well as an additional challenge. I like to hear when parents are involved with decision making. It almost always means that the decision to attend the class will hinge on value. Will the cost of the training be worth it? Will the training help my child find a job? As I’ve outlined above, these are very good questions.
But here comes the challenge… how does a fresh grad who just spent 15-20 minutes being interviewed to be part of a training class go home and explain to their parents what they BPO Elite is all about, why analytics is important and why going to our training is the best things they can do to help them find not just a job, but start a career? For those fresh grads in the audience, this topic will carry over into my next blog post. It will be entitled something along the lines of how to engage your parents in the conversation to help them decide to let you attend the training.

So when I first started pitching the Introduction to Analytics seminar to prospective training candidates, I need to come up with a good analogy about what analytics is and what an analyst does. At the time I was doing most of these informational interviews at various Starbucks across Manila. So I started using this analogy.

Pretend for a minute that you are an analyst working for Starbucks. You work in he corporate office with a team of analysts. One day your manager comes to you and tells you they have a special project they need done right away. They need to know the Top 10 Starbucks locations in all of Metro Manila. So there are hundreds of Starbucks out there so the first thing to do is find a list of them. Then you need to find there sales data. You dump that into excel and you sort it by sales and you find the top ten stores. Pretty easy.

But what happens next is where a good analysts comes in. Your boss is going to want to know why they are top ten even if they didn’t ask for it. So you need to determine what these stores have in common. What is their secret to success? So you need more data. You go out and find the location, the size, how old the store is and any other datapoints you think might be relevant. You pull all that data into your analysis. And the you look for patterns. What do they have in common? Are there things they have that a lot of others do not.

Say for this exmaple you find that all ten of them are located on the ground floor of near the entrance a big mall. That makes sense… its a high traffic area and people have spending money on their mind.

So know when you report your findings to your manager you can give them the list and some some analysis to go with it, That is what a good analyst does… adds value to a business by providing management through there analysis that leads to data-driven decision making.

So that has becom my elevator sales pitch on analytics and what an analysts does.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/loisgeller/2012/05/23/a-brand-is-a-specialized/

For those of you who have worked with me since the launch of BPO Elite, you know how much I talkabout how important building our brand is. All those years with Wells Fargo taught me a lot about the power of branding. Being involved with marketing our products I learned to truly appreciate the power of a symbol, a logo, a color palette, a motto… working for one of America’s oldest and most admired banks was truly a great experience.

I’ve also come to respect the power my favorite brands have over me. If a restaurant serves Pepsi, I often just have water instead of my beloved Coke. I seriously plan on only ever buying Hondas. You can talk to me about how Android phones are better than iPhone until you are blue in the face and I’ll still love my iPhone. I am a marketers dream come true, I am extremely brand loyal. Now my goal is to make BPO Elite the brand the call center industry turns to when they need a trusted source of analytics solutions.

One of the most influential books I’ve ever read is Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki. He talks about the lessons he learned being the first of Apple’s Evangelists. I saw him give a keynote speech recently on the power of branding and how great brands enchant their customers. This is my dream for BPO Elite, to be thought of as a company who enchants customers.

I love all the new ways to spread a brand that are now available and can give a company like mine the presence that not too long ago was only for the Fortune 500. Facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, FourSquare, Tout, Yelp… the list grows every day. And I use them all to share our story, to enchant you with our service and to convince you to be brand loyal to us.

But there is one I have not used yet, and surprisingly its one of the pioneers of allowing new small business to compete with the big boys. YouTube! BPO Elite needs a YouTube video. So stay tuned to see how we position the BPO Elite brand next.

http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/companies/27451-knowledge-process-outsourcing-pushed

It has become a daily occurance for me to come across articles like the one about the tout the amazing level of opportunity here in the Philippines. For every risk or concern, there are a dozen reasons to be bullish about the near future and long term future here. And for companies like BPO Elite who work primarily in the KPO space, its even more true. To see a government and a people trying to revitalze and reinvent their entire publie education system to address real world needs is amazing. Combine that with the amount of hot money being infused by oursourcing and remittances and then add that to the dempographics and you get a perfect storm of economic development that I see every single day here. As for KPO, its a need growing in leaps and bounds. SO many companies are trying so hard to get their hands around the Big Data they have in their databases and there are so few people who have the analytic skills and preperation to make use of it. KPO + Big Data – number of analysts = big opportunity for BPO Elite!!!!!

There are countless sources that predict the rise of China and India and thier inevitable passing of the U.S. and Western Europe as the economic leaders of the world. However, there are few as entertaining and fascinating as this one. For history nuts like myself who also geek out on statistics, this is pretty amazing stuff. 2048… 36 years from now is the prediction here.

BPO Elite is currently looking for Analyst Trainees! First training will be May 30th and 31st in Pasay.

If you think you are qualified for the position or know someone who is, please forward me a CV!

Requirements:
• Graduate of any Bachelor’s degree; preferably business related
• Fresh graduates preferred; candidates w/ experience are welcome to apply

If interested send your CV at rachelle.marano@gmail.com or at r.marano@bpoelite.com for your scheduled interview.

You can also reach me at 09352651923

Rachelle A. Marano

Recruitment Consultant

BPO Elite

http://business.inquirer.net/59197/more-%e2%80%98hot-money%e2%80%99-seen-to-make-its-way-to-ph

Every morning as I head to work the signs of new construction are everywhere. Every day as I read the headlines I come across another article touting another company looking to the Philippines as an outsourcing or investment option. Every night I see how alive the city of Manila is with a youthful exuberance. When I talk to people across a variety of industries and professions there is a buzz here that is undeniable. I can attest first hand to the sentiment in this and so many other articles that the future of the Philippines is bright and the time to invest is now.

https://www.facebook.com/WorkAbroadLiveHere

About.

Enjoy the benefits of working abroad while living in the Philippines. Our website: http://www.workabroadlivehere.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ITBPOCareers.

Description

Enjoy the benefits of working abroad while living in the Philippines. The IT-BPO industry is your ticket to a global career.

ABOUT THE INDUSTRY
The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), the umbrella organization for the IT-BPO (information technology and business process outsourcing) and GIC (Global In-House Center) industry in the Philippines, forecasts IT-BPO to grow up to US$25 billion and direct employment of 1.3 million by 2016. The Philippines is the number one global destination for voice BPO, and number two for non-voice, complex services, which are the fastest-growing segments of the industry today. These services range from engineering and project management to risk management to application development. In all, the industry is composed of more than 20 distinct segments.

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
The Philippine IT-BPO industry grew 24% in 2011 to more than US$11 billion. This fast-growing industry offers rewarding global opportunities to Filipinos to work abroad while living in the Philippines. Because non-voice, complex services are the fastest-growing segments of the industry, IT-BPO is generating global jobs for virtually everyone. And not just in major urban areas. IT-BPO companies are present in every region of the Philippines. Davao, Laguna, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cavite, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Malolos, Baguio, and Dumaguete, are fast-emerging Next Wave CitiesTM that are fast becoming IT-BPO hubs in their own right. Whatever you do; wherever you are, there?s a job waiting for you.

ABOUT THE TALENT
Meeting the incredible demand for talent has become a challenge for the IT-BPO industry. The Business Processing Association of the Philippines is undertaking a number of initiatives–with government, the academe, and the industry itself–to address this challenge. One of these initiatives is this Career Portal, which is meant to increase awareness of the opportunities the industry provides professionals, and to connect them to more than 700 employers. The portal, Work Abroad Live Here, provides a digital venue to bridge the gap between IT-BPO companies and job-seekers. Between now and 2016, the industry will grow from 640,000 professionals to more than 1.3 million. They will work in finance and accounting, health care, engineering, marketing, creative services and many other global, complex and rewarding jobs.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/02/09/the-empowered-employee-is-coming-is-the-world-ready/

Read this and tell me what you think. Is the world ready? Are you ready?

http://workabroadlivehere.com/

My friends and associates at the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) have launced a new web site to serve as a job portal for BPO companies. I think its a great way to bring more focus on the challenge ahead of recruiting, training and retaining top talent in the industry. By demonstrating that in the long run its better to stay and work in the Philippines as opposed to going abroad to make a livelihood. The success of efforts like this job portal are crucial to the future success of the Philippines and its progress as a nation.

For those of you working in or thinking about becoming part of the BPO community, check out the link and sign up as an employer or a job seeker!